Dem representative calls for less "dehumanization" of federal employees

Democratic lawmakers at a hearing on Tuesday accused conservatives voicing skepticism of the federal government’s control of land in the western United States of inciting violence toward the federal employees who manage that land.

Members of a public lands panel on the House Natural Resources Committee voiced concern about rising attacks and abuse aimed federal law enforcement and other land management employees, though Republicans were careful to distinguish widespread frustrations over land use regulations from the relatively small number of individuals who have engaged in such harassment. Republicans pushed back after Democrats called for a kinder and more supportive attitude toward federal workers.